I
never will forget those nights;
I
wonder if it was a dream.
Remember
how you made me crazy -
Remember
how I made you scream.
~
Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer”
All of a sudden this afternoon, this song began playing
in my mind. I hadn't listened to it in a while, but I discovered that
my reaction hadn't changed. “The Boys of Summer” still brings
tears to my eyes and sends chills up my spine.
If
you're not familiar with the song, go here:
This
isn't a particularly good video, but the lyrics will paint their own
pictures for you. Or at least, they do for me.
Why
does this bittersweet song touch me so deeply? One reason is the fact
that it so perfectly captures the blind intensity of teenage passion
– the way sex and love get totally confused when you're burning up
with desire. When you're young, the nights are magic and they last
forever. Everything kiss, every touch, is new and overwhelming. I
don't know about you, but I find this song incredibly erotic, perhaps
because it reminds me of my own early loves, swept away by the tides
of time.
In
fact “The Boys of Summer” isn't really a summer song at all:
Nobody
on the road;
Nobody
on the beach.
I
can feel it in the air,
The
summer's out of reach...
But
it celebrates the glories of summer, bare limbs, bronzed bodies, and
heat that rivals the sun. The song pulls you back to the season when
the beach was crowded and girls drove around in convertibles, when
rock and roll and scent of sun tan oil filled the air. In the
brilliant light of summer lust, forever seems possible, even likely.
The
song tells a story, too, one that I might try to express in my own
medium some day, if I get the chance. Just three verses, and yet I
know the characters: the fickle, flirtatious girl “smiling at
everyone”, the brash, naïve young man, hurt yet boasting “I'm
gonna show you what I'm made of”. And then the third verse, surely
the voice of greater wisdom and maturity, “those days are gone
forever; I should just let them go.”
But
he can't, and neither can I. The memories tempt me back, to relive
the thrill and the pain of first love or first lust – if there's a
difference.
While
looking for a recording to include in this post, I noticed that “The
Boys of Summer” was released in 1984 – more than three decades ago.
And even then, I was wistfully recalling earlier summers. It's
sobering to realize how long ago it was that I first experienced
“those nights” of which this song reminds me. I guess I never
will forget them. And honestly, I don't want to.
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